The Preciousness of Friends

Read Mark 2:1-12

Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven." - Mark 2:4-5

Reflection of Tommy:

The story of how Jesus heals a paralyzed man in Mark often points us to the power of Christ to forgive sin. But, there is another great lesson we can learn from it. We see how the paralytic was blessed with compassionate friends of faith. Without their great effort to assist a friend, the paralytic would never be able to come to Jesus for healing.

As God has brought many friends to us in His church, are we ready to assist and serve them in time of need. Can they rely on our faith? And, if we have been blessed with kind and compassionate friends with faith, do we respect and appreciate their guidance and help for us.

Dear Father, thank You for reminding me to hold unswervingly to the hope I profess and consider how I may spur one another toward love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:23-24). I pray that I will continue to allow myself to be guided by the Holy Spirit, to live my life as Your children of light; that my brothers who are in need can trust and rely on my faith. I pray also that I will truly appreciate those friends with faith You have brought into my life. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

Amazing Love!

John 3:13-18

13No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.[a] 14Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.[b]

16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,[c] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.[d]

Reflection of Bee:

"For God so loved the world
that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him
shall not perish but have eternal life."
- John 3:16

This is a very well known verse which precedes John 15:7-14 (devotion for 4 April 07, Joy of True Friendship and Love). Without the former there will be no latter. Because Jesus had demonstrated what true love is, He has the right to ask those who claimed to love Him and are His "friends" to do likewise, i.e. to love (and be willing to die for) those who also truly love Jesus (John 15:12-14).

"Blood is thicker than water", as the saying goes in our physical relationship with our siblings. Similarly, it is so (through the blood of Jesus) with our spiritual BORN-AGAIN 'siblings' in Christ, who also obey His command to love (John 15:12-14).

In the past, I always thought that John 15 was trying to tell us that we must be willing to lay down our lives for EVERYONE. Almost impossible, I feel, unless that person is extremely close to us. Now I understand that all these are possible ONLY IN CHRIST. That means it is only possible within the family of God (amongst those who not only accepted Christ's salvation but also obeyed Christ's command to love, thus become Christ's and ours friends) . This makes more sense, isn't it?

Jesus did not ask us to die for sinners, but rather to die for our friends (definition of friendship is in accordance with God's word in John 15, not by the world's definition).

Dear Lord,
Thank You for Your revelation on what Your word says about love, friendship, and obedience. Now it seems not so difficult after all to love the way You do once we fulfill the criteria which will make Your way of love possible.
Now I pray for my special friend that You grant him peace in his heart and faith in Your providence for him. Let him understand why You allowed things to happen in his life, to make things for good, 'cos he loves You.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.


Reflection of Tommy:

Love is when God became man. And love is when God sacrificed His only Son for us. This is the model of love that should be the basis for all love relationships. When we say we truly love others, we should be like Jesus - willingly to give freely and sacrificially; that they may join us in receiving God’s love. Keep this passage close to my heart always:

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends”. – John 15:9-13

Dear Father, thank You for Your amazing love for me. Thank You Jesus for taking all the punishments for my sins though You never deserve them. Thank You for offering me a new life in You; filling me each day with Your righteousness and Your Words. Thank You and I praise You, my risen Lord! All honor and glory to You. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

Joy of True Friendship and Love

John 15:7-14

7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

9"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command.

Reflection of Bee:

The above passage is a very familiar one. However, the message seems much clearer to me tonight than before. It talks about how we may have joy by having true friendship and love with each other as true believers of Christ.

How can we have joy?
When we remain in Christ's love (v11)

How do we remain in Christ's love?
When we obey His command (v10)

What is His command?
Love each other (true believers) in the way Christ loves us (v12).

How does Christ love?
Willing to lay down His life for His friends (v13).

Who are Christ's friends?
Those who obey His command (v14).

Who are our friends?
Those who are Christ's friends (v14).


Clearly, to be a true FRIEND of Christ is to obey His COMMAND to LOVE our fellow Christians who also obey Him. To truly love is to be willing to lay down our lives for each other. In this way our JOY will be full/complete. Therefore, true joy, friendship, love and obedience are all interlinked and not stand alone. They are 'fruit' of true disciples of Christ (v8).

We can't expect true joy when we don't obey Christ's command to love those who love Him.
We can't have true friendship with Christ when we can't have true friendship with those who love Him.
We can't say we love Christ when we can't love with actions for those who love Him.

If someone says he loves Christ or is a friend of Christ but does not practice the command of Christ stated above, he is lying to himself.

Dear Lord,
Thank You for showing me clearly what it means to be Your friend, to love and to experience Your joy.
I want to be Your friend, to love and to experience Your joy the way You command. Help me to obey fully, Lord.
In Jesus' name I ask these.



Reflection of Tommy:
It is easy to be frustrated and even sink into depression when bad things keep happening to us. We may then seek out ways to temporarily make ourselves feel better or to run away from our problems. But, often as we depend on these earthly ‘horses’ for relief, it doesn’t takes long before we sink even lower in our misery or worst getting us into more problems (Amos 5:19). We will never find true lasting joy and peace when we are easily swept by the rolling waves of circumstance.

The solution to have a lasting and complete joy is by developing a consistent relationship with Jesus. When we walk closely with Him each day and obeying His commands, we will remain in His love (v10). He will supply us with true joy, peace, wisdom and courage to move forward, even as life's challenges trying to pull us down.

Dear Father, thank You for reminding me to remain in You and having Your Words remain in me (v7), bearing good fruits as a true disciple of Christ. Guard my heart and mind that I may not be constantly distracted and pulled down by my problems. Teach me to follow You, to obey Your commands and to spend more time listening to Your leading. Lord, I will give You praise and thanks in all things; good or bad..bringing all glory and honor to You. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

Bee's 14th Month of Devotion

It's 2007 now, and it marks my 14th month of running this spiritual race together with my Best Friend, Tommy.

There were a number of times I wanted to pull out from doing my devotion here, but each time I came back again. The reason is that Tommy had been patiently waited for me to post my thoughts here by saving his as "drafts" and not publishing them till I input mine.

A week ago, I almost stopped blogging here altogether as I couldn't access the blog admin anymore after this blog was switched to beta.blogger. It created some misunderstanding between us. Thank God that it's settled now. On hindsight, I realized there is a spiritual warfare out there whenever we wish to spend time with God or to have fellowship with believers. The devil will try to use the technique of "divide and conquer" to cause misunderstanding and create divisions. We should be very vigilant and not fall into the trap of the devil.


Dear Tommy,
In this new year, I wish to thank you for your patience and kindness towards me for the past 14 months. Thank you for all the things you have done for me.
Sorry for the times I have misunderstood you or may have said things that are hurtful to you. I ask for your forgiveness.

Dear Lord,
May 2007 bring about new understanding between Tommy and me, and new growth in our spiritual walk with You. May we become channels of blessings to those who come into contact with us. May we touch lives as we continue this devotional journey together. May Your love be felt through us.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.


... the thoughts of Bee

Our First Anniversary

I can't believe it! We have crossed our First Anniversary at this devotional blog together! :)

Looking back, I must thank God for helping us to stay consistent in reading the Bible nightly, no matter how busy or tired we have been. It's by God's grace that we could have done that. Praise God!

For me, these devotional times are life to my spirit and water to soul, always bringing me back to sanity whenever my mind is crowded with stressful events or thoughts.

Sometimes I felt like taking a certain course of actions, but God would use His words to tell me not to do them.

Sometimes, I felt down or discouraged, God's words would encourage me again and helped me moved on. As Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 says:

9 Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work:

10 If one falls down,
his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!

Thanks, Tommy, for keeping me company here. Two are better than one. ;)



... the thoughts of Bee

Bee's 11th Month of Devotion

Time flies... it's like blinking of my eyes. Eleven months have passed so quickly since I blog my devotion here.

The benefit of blogging my devotional thoughts is I could keep myself consistent in keeping my quiet time.

In the past, I tend to miss my time in reading God's words on and off. However, by blogging and especially doing it with fellow Christian, somehow I will never forget to do it. We are able to encourage each other to go on when at times our spirit is willing but our flesh is weak.

I would like to encourage those who have problem doing regular Quiet Time to do likewise. Find a buddy or partner to do it together, helping each other to keep this time with the Lord constant.


... the thoughts of Bee

Something Money Can't Buy

Isaiah 55:1-7

Invitation to the Thirsty
1 "Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.

2 Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.

3 Give ear and come to me;
hear me, that your soul may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
my faithful love promised to David.

4 See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
a leader and commander of the peoples.

5 Surely you will summon nations you know not,
and nations that do not know you will hasten to you,
because of the LORD your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
for he has endowed you with splendor."

6 Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.

7 Let the wicked forsake his way
and the evil man his thoughts.
Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

Bee's Thoughts:

Money is important, yet it can't buy certain things in life. It can't buy...
true love and friendship
happiness
health
salvation, etc

Today, I heard a speaker shared a little about end-time. He said that we are born to die, so when the end of the earth comes, it doesn't matter to those who are in Christ. But what matters is how we live now. Do we waste away our lives in earning more money or perishable pursuit? Or do we spend time sowing seeds that will last for eternity?

In the above passage, God invites us to go and receive from Him the best gift for free. He wants to give us living water, which after drinking we will not thirst again. We need to always go to God for this refreshing water.

Dear Lord,
Thank You for Your living water that You freely give. May I drink and share it with others around me too.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.



Tommy's Thoughts:

It’s true a lot of us focus solely daily in pursuing earthly treasures and goals that we starve our selves spiritually by hardly nourish our souls with our Daily Bread. God offers us free, lasting nourishment that satisfy our deepest need. All we have to do is to go to Him (v1), listen to Him (v2), seeking and call on Him (v6).

Dear Father, thank You for Your patience and faithfulness. Teach me not to forget or neglect my time with You; to come to You with a listening ears and heart and to put You first above all other things. Keep me close to You and renew me each day with joyful obedience. I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Bee's 10th Month of Devotion

This is a very special month. It seems our nightly devotions together help brings forth fruit. The fruit of commitment to run the race together, to love and to hold. I wish it will last...


.......the thoughts of Bee

Three Friends

Daniel 1:11-21

11 Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, 12 "Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see." 14 So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.

15 At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. 16 So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.

17 To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.

18 At the end of the time set by the king to bring them in, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king's service. 20 In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.

21 And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.

Tommy's Thoughts:

As I was studying Paul’s list of 20 spiritual gifts, I realized that our gifts to serve others will only be genuine and be effectively exercised when we are rightly related to God.

Like Daniel and his friends in today’s passage, we see how when they maintained steadfast allegiance to God, they received true wisdom and understanding from God that outshined all those magicians and enchanters who claimed and pretended to be authoritative and possesses great wisdom.

Dear Father, thank You for all Your gifts and blessings for me. Teach me to use them wisely and effectively to glorify Your Name, ministering to all those in needs. Lord, I pray that You will use me to serve others with a loving and caring heart like Christ; touching their lives and bringing them to know You and Your amazing love. I pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.


Bee's Thoughts:

I like the title of tonight's devotion, "Three Friends". Friends have many kinds. The worst of all is:

Fair-weather friend

When it’s rainy and wet you’re nowhere to be seen
When it dries out again you bet you’re right back on the scene
And when the clouds begin to form you’re always hiding from the rain
And when the sun begins to shine you’re always first in line again

It would be nice if you could just make up your mind
It would be nice if you could stop wasting my time
My fair-weather friend back here again
Until the end my fair-weather friend back here again

Never do it yourself when someone else can do it for you
Never put yourself out when something less will do
So when the benefits out weigh the work stay right put
And when the going gets a little rough do the only thing you know you should


That's the lyric of a song I don't know its tune. It conveys the meaning of fair-weather friend quite well. I have had a couple of such friends before. Now they are gone... by natural attrition. Time tells who are the real friends from the fair-weather friends. True friends stay when the rest go away.

Dear Lord,
Thank You for giving me friends although some don't stay. I thank You for the one (s) that stay and be a pillar of strength and encouragement in times of discouragement. Most of all, thank You for being my Friend who is always there for me.
Help me to be a true friend and be wise in choosing my friends, so I can utilize my time wisely.
I ask these in Jesus' name. Amen

Bee's 9th Month of Devotion

Wow! 9 months! That's about the time for a child to be born. :)

Well, 9 months blogging my devotion here with the permission of Tommy has bore fruits. Galatians 5:22-23 says:

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

Yes, through these devotions, I have learned to have "patience, faithfulness and self-control", i.e. disciplining myself to devote this time to God no matter how tired I may be.

Yes, I also learned about the meaning of pure love in a friendship. Thank God for these lessons.



... the thoughts of Bee